Madison College’s dreams of a new and expansive south campus have taken a big step closer to becoming a reality.
Thanks to a $3 million grant from Great Lakes Higher Education announced Monday, the plans for a three-phase construction will now be greatly sped up. In addition, Great Lakes has also offered a $3.5 million dollar match challenge to the community at large in order to raise additional monies by March 2018.
“With Great Lakes’ gift and the challenge, we are now able to build the total campus we intended to build,” Madison College President Jack Daniels III told Madison365. “It may have taken five years otherwise. But now we should be in the facility by the Fall term of 2019.”
By expanding to the South side of the city, Madison College will be able to provide postsecondary education opportunities and job skills training to one of the most impoverished and needy areas of the city.
“This area, this community has long been unrecognized,” Daniels said. “And when you think about not being recognized, you think about the types of skill the folks have in this area, the needs. You’re talking about poverty and this is the most impoverished area of this city. We’re now providing the types of tools so they can actually get out of poverty. And we’re going to be doing that out at the south campus. The skills, the training that people will need to earn a living wage.”
Prior to the donation from Great Lakes, Madison College expected only the first of three phases in the construction to be completed by late 2019. But now with the Great Lakes grant and with help from the community, all three phases are expected to be completed by late 2019 or early 2020.
“I think it’s critical for the south side to become more fully integrated with the community,” George Richard, CEO of Great Lakes Higher Education, told Madison365. “Education, particularly for low income, first generation or minority students is more difficult than it is for many. Proximity becomes a critical component as do community services. So by co-locating all of that here on the south side we believe that it brings a focus and an expectation that access and success is possible locally. So that’s really the vision that Dr. Daniels and the board and Great Lakes have.”
The facility is expected to be an imposing, 75,000 square foot building that includes student services as well as social service and community organization areas. Daniels told Madison365 that the staffing of the facility is already in the works. Current teaching staff and other faculty will be able to spread out from the Truax campus and work with students at the south campus as well.
Ever since Daniels took over as president, Madison College has rocketed towards becoming a powerful secondary education institution. The site at Truax now boasts one of the most state-of-the-art and architecturally modern facilities in the state. There is no question that the south side facility will feature that same vision.
“It needs to get done and it will get done,” Daniels said.
